Recently, in some big cities, such as Beijing and Shanghai, balcony gardening     1     (be) popular with residents, most of       2     are in their 20s and 30s. According to the report made by Tmall, balcony gardening is now worth tens of billions of yuan and extends from seeds and soil to automated growing machines. Even a novice (新手) can become an urban farmer just     3     pushing buttons. Experts think     4     (grow) vegetables in balcony gardens is more than just an achievement. It is becoming a fashionable lifestyle and requires suitable equipment that is easy to use.

National parks are places to be treasured—places     1     the country locks away the very best it has to offer for everyone to enjoy. Not all famous national parks are on land. One good example is the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park in Australia.     2     (stretch)over 2,300 kilometers, the Great Barrier Reef is considered one of the natural     3     (wonder)of the world. The park was created in 1975 to protect the reef from overdevelopment and fishing. Unfortunately, the biggest danger to it is global warming,     4     park management cannot stop.

Along a great part of this track is the     1     (surprise) waterfalls which hikers pass by. These include Empress Falls. It is a wonderful waterfall in the Valley of the Waters. It     2     (go) down a series of rocks to a pool. These are stepping stones for hikers to cross the falls and some shady spots     3     tired travelers can rest.

The 19th Asian Games, held from Sept. 23 to Oct 8 in Hangzhou and five other cities in Zhejiang,     1     (come) to an end recently. It is undoubtedly the most     2     (amaze) sporting event of the year, with 15 world records broken. The competitive atmosphere and sportsmanship displayed by athletes are impressive. Besides,     3     makes it more spectacular is that “Green Games” has become a calling card for it. Green energy sources were used at all 56 competition venues. For example, digital technologies were used for managing carbon emissions from venues in the six cities     4     the Games were held.

Water is a precious resource. Every person needs it     1     (survive), and we use it for cooking, drinking, growing our food and washing. However, it is scarce (缺乏的). Just 1% of water on Earth can     2     (use) by humans. What’s more, treating water to make it clean and safe and pumping it to our homes uses up lots of energy. So, what can you do to help save water? One easy way is by     3     (turn) off the tap when you brush your teeth.

Studies show that laughter     1     (produce) chemicals to make people feel better, which means clown doctors can be helpful. We are specially     2     (train) clowns. I chose this career because of my experience of going to hospital when I     3     (be) a kid. Although the doctors and nurses did a great job, hospitals weren’t really designed     4     children. I spent much of the time when I was there feeling frightened and more than a little bored! Being a clown doctor means I can help people by entertaining them.

Technology isn’t the only way     1     (forecast) the weather. Nature has its ways, too. Unusual animal behaviour, for example, can indicate whether it’s cold, wet weather that’s on the way or a hot, dry period. If fish are jumping     2     (high) than usual or frogs are croaking more loudly, it may rain. And next time you look up at the sky, don’t just look for rain clouds, but also for     3     (bird). If they are flying low, grab your umbrella.

Speaking of medicine, through new technology, people who have brain     1     other injuries will be able to find new hope. There     2     (be) recently, for example, technology which can help blind people to see using cameras and deaf people to hear using microphones that     3     (connect) to their brains. Future technology will assist people in overcoming all sorts of physical disabilities.

Don’t worry. This is natural for many people. In 1885, Hermann Ebbinghaus    1     (publish) a book called Memory and presented a famous forgetting curve. According to him, the sharpest     2    (lose) of memory occurs during the very early period after learning. This means timely review during this period, with a few revisits to     3     is learnt, can significantly help us to remember the information.

When we think of green buildings, we tend to think of new ones — the kind of modern, solar-paneled masterpieces. But the US     1     (have) more than 100 million existing homes, and it would be incredibly wasteful to tear them all down.

An enormous amount of energy and     2     (resource) went into the construction of those houses. And it would take     3     average of 65 years for the reduced carbon emissions from a new energy-efficient home to make up for the resources       4     (lose) by destroying an old one. So in the broadest sense, the     5     (green) home is the one that has already been built. But at the same time, nearly half of US carbon emissions come from heating, cooling     6     powering our buildings. They can’t deal with climate change without dealing     7     existing buildings.

The oldest homes tend to be the least energy-efficient, mainly due to the tiny cracks and gaps that expand over time and let in more outside air.

    8     (fortune), there are a vast number of relatively simple changes     9     can green older homes. And efficiency upgrades can save more than just the earth; they can help protect property owners from     10     (rise) power costs.